Final answer:
The volume of the solid formed between y = x² - 3 and y = -2 with square cross sections is found by integrating the area of the squares from x = -1 to x = 1. The area of each square is (1 - x²)².
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the volume of the solid with a base bounded by y = x² - 3 and y = -2, and with cross sections perpendicular to the x-axis being squares, we need to calculate the integral of the area of these cross sections over the interval for which the solid exists.
The first step is to determine the interval of x for which the solid is defined. This is found by solving for x when y = x² - 3 equals y = -2. Solving the equation x² - 3 = -2 gives x = ±1. Therefore, the solid exists on the interval [-1, 1].
The side length of each square cross section is given by the distance between the curves, which is (-2) - (x² - 3) = 1 - x². The area of each square is then (1 - x²)². To find the volume, we integrate the area of the cross-section from x = -1 to x = 1:
∫-11 (1 - x²)² dx
This integral gives us the total volume of the solid.